You Should've Said No
by Eva Loves You
Summary: Hairspray Amber has always known about her mother's lifestyle but she didn't think she would betray her.
1. Chapter 1

"See you tomorrow." Amber said to Tammy as she drove off. Amber grabbed her shopping bags and walked up the driveway to go into the house. She was anxious to try on the new dress she bought to wear to the school dance. It was a pretty sapphire blue color, which she knew Link would like and had spaghetti straps and a full skirt. She was dying to show it to her mom as well. She knew her mother would like it. Sometimes she felt like her mother was her only friend and the only person who truly looked out for her no matter what. She struggled with the door as she opened it. She had hoped her mother was downstairs when she walked in so she could help her with her bags but her mom was nowhere to be found. Her car was in the driveway so she thought she was at home but she guessed some guy must have picked her up. Her mom was the biggest hypocrite she was always telling her not to let Link pressure her into having sex and to safe her self for marriage.

As hard as her mom tried to keep her sex life away from Amber, she still knew about it. She knew about all of the guys Velma was with. She knew about the affair with Shelley's father who was married but she tried to act like she didn't know even when she and Shelley argued, she always bit her tongue. She knew when it started and she knew when it was over. She also knew about her recent fling with Corny, but she wasn't sure if it was still going on or not. She pretended like she didn't see him sneaking in the house when they both thought she was asleep and back out before it got light. She walked in on them in his dressing room. She wasn't a priss but when she saw her mother's head between Corny's legs she couldn't help but thinking that was disgusting! Once again she played clueless and acted like she didn't know her mother was a slut who would probably do anything that walked. Despite this, Amber still loved her mom. She knew you could choose your friends but you couldn't choose your family so she had to deal with her mother's lifestyle. Sometimes it came in handy. Her mother's night with Mr. Spritzer was how she became the station manager in the first place and if her mom didn't have that job she wouldn't be the lead dancer on the Corny Collins show.

She struggled up the stairs with her bags and took them into her room. She threw everything on her bed and headed downstairs to grab a snack. She passed her mom's room and heard her giggling followed by a male's voice. Amber sighed. Great, not again! No wonder she didn't know Amber was home she was too busy with one of her men! She went back to her room to pack her overnight bag. She was going to spend the night at Tammy's house and call her mom from there. As she packed her bag, she heard her mother scream out in pleasure. She packed faster. The sooner she got out of there the better off she would be! She didn't want her mother or her lover to catch her. She wasn't even sure who was in there. It might have been Corny or maybe some other anonymous guy whose last name she wouldn't even remember. She quickly walked down to the kitchen and grabbed a cup of juice before she left. She put a bag of chips in her bag and headed for the door. She almost ran into her mother who was shocked to see her. Her blonde hair was tousled and she was wearing her bathrobe.

"Amber…what are you…doing…here?" Velma sputtered out pulling her robe tighter and looking nervously out the door.

"I just got back, but don't worry I'm leaving you and your boyfriend alone." Amber snapped.

"What are you talking about Amber?"

"Mom don't play innocent you aren't good at it! I know about your many lovers mom and I know there is a guy up there now. I heard you!" Velma looked down guiltily.

"Okay, honey you are right. It's one of my flaws but I can't help it. I like being with guys. Why don't you go and spend the night at one of your friends house and we will talk about this in the morning," Velma said and then tried to push Amber out the door. She didn't know why her mom was rushing her.

"Mom, why don't you kick your boyfriend out and we'll talk right now. Why do you do this mom? You are better then this!"

"I know but we will talk about it tomorrow. We'll go to lunch before you go to the dance. What do you think?" Her mom said frantically.

"What's wrong mom why are you rushing me out?" There was a moment of silence but before Velma could answer they both heard someone coming down the stairs. Velma looked afraid and Amber looked up curiously. She was shocked by who she saw.

"Velma, what's taking you so long?" Link said. He was only wearing a pair of boxer shorts and he looked up and was just as shocked to see Amber standing there.

"Amber, I can explain…" Link started.

"Don't bother! You sick bastard!" Amber screamed at him and throws the glass she was holding at him. He moved out of the way and the glass hit the wall and broke.

"Amber come on be reasonable." Velma said trying to calm Amber down.

"Reasonable? Reasonable?! Mother, are you fuckin serious?"

"Amber watch your language! Look this just happened. I couldn't help myself." Velma said like that was a good excuse. Amber couldn't think of anything else to say to either one of them. She turned and walked out the door slamming it behind her. She cried as she walked down the driveway. She had never been so betrayed before by two people who were supposed to love her more then anyone else.


	2. Chapter 2

Amber woke up to the smell of coffee, sausages, and eggs being cooked. It reminded her of the mornings she and her mom ate out for breakfast. Unlike Tammy's mom, her mother never cooked. Boiling water was probably too much work for her. She stopped complaining about it a long time ago and now she figured her mom was too busy to cook. That is if you considered sleeping around with your daughter's boyfriend plus countless other guys begin busy. Amber got angry all over again at the mental vision of Link and her mother together. How could her mom do that to her? Sure, she was obviously nothing but a raging nymphomaniac but she should have had the will power to stay away from Link. How could Link do this to her when he was supposed to love her? She didn't care if she ever talked to either one of them again. Amber got out of bed to start what she knew was going to be a bad day. She had to face her mother and Link today and she knew it wasn't going to be easy. When she got to Tammy's house last night she had just told her that she and her mom had a bad fight and she needed a place to sleep. She was too ashamed of the real reason she showed up on Tammy's doorstep in the middle of the night. Tammy kept trying to get her to talk about it but she couldn't bring herself to tell her best friend the truth.

She was in the kitchen eating breakfast with Tammy and her little brother when the doorbell rang. She heard Tammy's mom open the door and a second later her own mother's voice. Velma came into the kitchen and spotted Amber. "Amber, we need to talk."

"Mom I don't want to talk to you." She said with out even turning around.

"Come on Amber don't be childish. This is really no big deal." Amber finally got up and turned around to face her mom. "Are you serious, mother! You think this is no big deal? I see you with…" Amber stopped when she realized Tammy's family was looking at them like they were watching some soap opera.

"Get your things and get in the car Amber" Velma said. Amber just stood there. She didn't want to go with her mother. She didn't even like her coming for her like she was a concerned parent or something.

"Amber, don't make me tell you twice." Velma said sternly.

Amber bowed her head in defeat and went to get her thinks. A few minutes later when they were driving along Velma finally spoke up. "I know you're mad at me but we have got to get through this. Let me explain what happened."

"Mom I know what happened you couldn't help yourself you never can. You don't have to sleep with every guy you lay eyes on you know."

"Amber you know that's not true. Link came over looking for you and it just happened."

"Whatever mom." Amber said and looked out the window. Velma knew there was nothing she could say to make things better. She had really hurt Amber and no amount of apologizes was going to make up for that. She always thought Link was cute in a boyish type of way but he was her daughter's boyfriend so she tried to turn the other cheek. He came over yesterday looking for Amber and she wasn't there. At first his intention was to just wait for her to come back an then he flirted with Velma telling her how pretty she was and how she looked more like Amber's older sister instead of her mother. Velma loved it when men told her how youthful she looked. She had kissed him to thank him for the compliment and then one thing led to another. Amber wasn't even supposed to find out about it. Now, she hated her. The only person Velma loved more then herself hated her all because she couldn't resist Link Larkin. She could have said no at any time but she didn't.

"Amber, can we please talk about this?" Velma said trying one more time when the pulled up to the high school.

"No mom we can't." Amber said and grabbed her things.

"Fine, we'll talk later when you come home."

"Mom, I'm not coming home." She said and then got out and slammed the door before Velma could say anything else.

Amber walked to her locker and saw Link standing up against it. She acted like she didn't see him and kept walking.

"Amber wait!" She heard him say but he kept walking. "Amber let me explain." He said catching up with her. "There's nothing to explain Link you slept with my mother. I never want to speak to you again."

"You know it's hard to say no to your mother."

"Like that explains it? It's over Link. You and my mother can both go to hell!"

"What do you mean it's over?"

"I mean you're a free man Link. Are you going to run back to my mom now?" She turned and walked in the opposite direction before he had a chance to answer. She was glad to see he wasn't following her. She went through the rest of the day in a daze. She didn't talk to anyone and tried her best to avoid Link. She went home to get some of her things since she knew her mom was still at work. She was planning on staying at Tammy's house until she could figure something out. She started crying again. She still didn't get why her mother did this to her. Link was another story. She knew he wanted to have sex with her and was actually threatening to leave her if she didn't but she didn't know he was desperate enough to turn to her mother, though. She wiped her tears away and walked out of her room with her suitcase in her hand. She heard the front door open.

"Amber!" She heard her mother call from downstairs. She didn't answer back and quickly went back to her room and closed the door except for a little crack. If she didn't think she was at home, Amber figured she would just leave. She heard her mom calling her name again. A moment later she heard her mom say, "She's not here. Let's go up to my room" Amber was surprised. It didn't seem like her mom was broken up about what happened at all. She was about to have sex with another man, or maybe she was with Link again. She heard them walking up the stairs and prepared to confront them again. She opened her door a little farther and saw her mother coming down the hallway and Corny walking behind her. They stopped in front of Velma's bedroom door and started kissing.

"Are you sure Amber isn't going to come in?" He asked her.

"Don't worry about her. I don't think she's coming back today." She said and they kissed again before walking into the bedroom and closing the door. She knew her mom and Corny were together but until now she didn't know if it was still going on but why wasn't she trying to make up with her instead of being with him? Her mom was more selfish then she thought. She waited a minute before tiptoeing downstairs and out the door.

"What's the matter with Amber, anyway?" Corny asked Velma about an hour later when they were sitting in the living room together. She hadn't seen Amber since this morning and figured she just needed to cool off. She hoped she would have at least called or came home. "We just had a fight. I'm sure she'll be fine." She told him. She didn't want to tell him the truth about Link. He'll probably be disgusted by it and leave her, and she didn't want that. She really did love him and she never loved any man before, not even Amber's father. She had flings and one night stands with lots of guys but it was always meaningless. They all just wanted one thing from her, and really didn't care about. Corny cared about her though. He wasn't just after one thing; all he wanted was to be with her. He took her out to nice restaurants, complimented her and bought her sweet presents. She had been dating him exclusively for almost two months and she didn't want it to end.

"Did you tell her about us? Is that was the fight was about?"

"No, she still doesn't have a clue." She said. She never told Amber about her men and she didn't think she had a clue until last night. Amber knew about a lot of the guys she was with but she didn't know if she knew about Corny or not. She hoped she didn't. She didn't want Amber or anyone else to know the truth right now. IT would just start more nasty rumors about her. People already thought she was a slut, and she didn't want them to know she was with a guy that was at least ten years younger then her but if Amber told someone about Link it could be worse then that. Plus, she didn't know how Amber would feel about her and Corny.

"When are you going to tell her?"

"I'm not sure yet."

"Don't you think you should tell he soon? It's been two months"

"Well now isn't the right time. She's already mad at me."

"Velma whatever it is she'll get over it but I'm tired of sneaking around. I love you and I want everyone to know it."

She wanted to tell everyone too but she had to straighten things out with Amber first. "Let me fix things with Amber then I'll tell her. I promise." She said and then kissed him.

"Great I hope you tell her soon because I've been thinking a lot and you are the most wonderful woman I've ever been with and I'm madly in love with you." He said and ran his hand through her blonde hair and kissing her on the cheek.

"Thanks, that's the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me." She said almost crying. Why was he being so nice to her when she didn't deserve it? She was an awful person who slept with her daughter's boyfriend.

"Corny I have something to tell you about Amber." She said deciding to come clean no matter what the consequences might be. He deserved to know the truth and if he broke up with her because of it she knew she deserved it.

"Let it wait because I have something to ask you." He said then pulled a little velvet box out of his pocket. He opened it and Velma saw a diamond ring inside. He bend down on one knee and grabbed her hand and said "I love you Velma and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?"

"Yes! Yes I will!" She exclaimed forgetting all about her problems with Amber.


	3. Chapter 3

"Where's Amber?" Velma asked Tammy before the show started. She hadn't see Amber since going to see her at Tammy's house the other day. "She's not coming. She said she didn't want to see you right now so she's not doing the show. What did you do to her?"

"It's none of your business!" Velma snapped at the younger girl. It wasn't like Amber to skip the show. She must have been really upset with her. It was two days ago surely Amber was over it by now. "Amber needs to come home. Is she still at your house?"

"Yeah but she doesn't want to come home with you. You must have done something really bad to her."

"I told you it's none of your damn business!" Velma snapped at her and then walked away. She went into her office and slammed the door. She hated it when Amber didn't speak to her over little things like punishing her or not giving her what she wanted but this was much bigger so she was going to have to do something really big to make her forgive her after this. She heard a knock at her door and then it opened before she could tell the person to come in. She was glad to see that it was just Corny walking in and no one else. "Are you okay? I heard you yell at Tammy. Did she say something to you?" he asked her.

"No, I'm just upset about Amber staying at her house. She's not doing the show today and she won't even talk to me." She said sadly.

"What did you guys fight about to make her this angry at you?"

"It's no big deal. She's just upset that I won't let her go somewhere." She figured that was a bad lie but she didn't really have a choice. He would call their engagement off if he found out about the thing with Link. She didn't like lying to him but she didn't have a choice not if she wanted to keep him. "Do you want me to talk to her for you?" he suggested.

"No!" she said quickly and then regained her composure when she saw the way he was looking at her. "I mean I'm sure I can handle it myself."

"Are you sure I mean the way you make it sound Amber won't even come near you. And the sooner she forgives you the sooner you can tell her and everyone else that we are getting married." She knew he was right but if he talked to Amber she would tell him the truth so she couldn't let him talk to her. "She'll start talking to me soon and then she'll forgive me. She always does. I just hope she does soon."

"So do I. I really want to start planning our wedding." He took her in his arms and started to kiss her. She loved being in his arm. After a long and lingering kiss he pressed his lips to her throat. He then reached for the zipper on her dress. She started to remove his jacket. She remembered the last time they were together in her office. They had practically torn each others clothes off and did it on her desk but that seemed like a lifetime ago. It was before they had officially started dating, when they were just getting together every now and then. Things were different now they weren't just acquaintances having causal sex, they were engaged to be married and they were making love. She let him lay her on top of her desk and reach under her skirt to remove her panties. She helped him unzip his pants as he kissed her on her neck. There was suddenly a banging at the door. "Shit," he murmured then tried to pull away from her. She pulled him back down and said "Hold on. I'll make them go away. Who is it?"

"Mom, it's me I want to talk." They quickly got up and attempted to fix their clothes while Amber continued to knock. "Hold on Amber! I'll be right there." Velma said as she put her dress back over her shoulders and her dress back on. It wouldn't look good to Amber if she saw her about to make love to Corny especially if she was here to make up like Velma thought she was. Amber knocked again. Corny looked at her confused wondering what to do next. They knew he had no choice but to go out the door and let Amber see him since her office had no other door to go out of. "I'll talk to you later." She whispered when they were fully dressed. He kissed her again before he walked out the door. Amber walked in looking after him and then gave Velma a dirty look. "You don't waste any time do you?" she said coldly.

"Amber it wasn't like that. We were just talking."

"If you were just talking what took you so long to open the door?" Amber asked crossing her arm over her chest.

"It was important, Amber. Now, what did you want to talk about?" She said trying to change the subject.

"I just wanted to tell you I'm quitting the show." Velma was surprised. Dancing on the show meant everything to Amber and she did a lot to get her on the show when there were a lot of girls who danced better then she did. Not to mention the fact that she switched the votes every year so she could win Miss Teenage Hairspray. Now, she wanted to throw all that away over what she did with Link. "Amber, please don't do this. I know this means everything to you."

"I can't smile and dance on TV with Link like everything is okay when it's not. Plus, I don't want to be around you anymore." Amber said and turned away.

"You have to come home Amber. You are a minor so if I have to get the police involved I will." She threatened.

"Fine, I'll come home but I'm through with you. I might have to stay in the same house with you but I don't have to talk to you there's no law that states that."

"Amber please let this go. What happened was a mistake and it will never happen again. I can't stand you not talking to me." Velma pleaded and put her arm around Amber's shoulder. Amber shrugged out of her mother's arm. "Are you serious, mom? You honestly expect me to believe that? It doesn't matter if you fuck Link or not because it's over between us anyway!"

"Amber I'm going to pretend you didn't just say that word. But I can assure you it will never happen again. I don't have any feelings for Link. In fact I'm in love with someone else."

"You're in love with who? You never love any man mother you just use them to get your way then dump them." Amber was truly disgusted by her mother. She wasn't capable of love that was something Amber knew for sure. If her mom was "in love" she was sure it was because she was in love with what the guy had.

"That's not true Amber. I don't appreciate you saying that either." Velma said offended but at the same time surprised. Amber knew more about her life then she thought she did. It was sure she did she use a lot of men but she wasn't using Corny she truly loved him rather Amber believed it or not.

"So who is the unlucky guy anyway? Mr. Spritzer or did you start back doing Shelley's dad? Is he going to leave her mom for you this time?" Amber said sarcastically.

"No Amber for your information it's Corny." Velma snapped. Amber's was making it very hard for her to even consider making up with her right now. Right now she didn't care what Amber thought of her relationship with Corny since she said she wasn't going to speak to her anymore anyway.

"Corny? You and Corny? Are you serious?" Amber asked surprised.

"Yes I'm serious. We love each other. As a matter of fact we are getting married. I was going to wait until we were on speaking terms again before I told you the news but since you said you weren't going to speak to me again then I guess it doesn't matter when I tell you."

"I can't believe that he will marry a woman like you. I thought Corny liked women with class not someone who has slept with half of the state of Maryland"

Velma suddenly slapped Amber. She couldn't help it Amber was really pushing her to the breaking point. She saw the shocked look on Amber's face as she massaged the side of her face. She looked like she was going to start crying. It reminded her of the times when Amber was a little girl and she got upset over little things. She reached for Amber like she did back during that time. "Amber sweetie I'm so sorry."

Amber stepped back and said "Forget it mom. I hate you! Don't ever speak to me again!" she said then stormed out of the office slamming the door behind her. Velma sat in her chair and started crying herself.

Amber continued to walk down the hall. She didn't think she could ever hate anyone as much as she hated her mother right now. First she sleeps with Link and then she had the nerve to slap her like what she was saying was not true! She didn't want to go home but like her mom said she had no choice. She didn't know what to think of the whole thing with Corny. Why would he want her mother? Sleeping with her every now and then was one thing but to marry her? What was he thinking? It didn't matter anyway. She didn't care who her mom married or did anymore. She was never going to talk to her again. She walked toward the exit door of the studio when she heard Corny calling her. She usually didn't mind talking to him but now he was just another one of her mother's men. "What do you want Corny?" she said sniffing.

"I just wanted to know if you were okay. Are you and your mom still fighting?" Is that what she told him, that they were just fighting? If he knew the truth, he would never talk to her mom again much less marry her.

"Corny do you know why my mom and I are fighting?" she asked him. Judging by the look on his face he obviously had no idea.

"No, she wouldn't tell me so I just figured you guys would work it out."

"She was with Link! I came home from shopping with my friends and she was in bed with him! That's why I never want to speak to her again!" She said and started to cry again just thinking about it. "You're kidding, right?"

"Of course not! Who knows what other council guys she's been with? She's a slut and I don't get why any guy would take her seriously! " She saw the hurt look on his face and treasured it. She continued to walk towards the exit door. She was sure Corny would call off their engagement and her mom would be hurt. Amber smiled just thinking about it. Now, she would now what it felt like to be hurt by a guy she loved.


	4. Chapter 4

"Velma I need to talk to you," Corny said when he came back into her office. Velma was still sitting in her office crying about Amber when he came back in. She was so upset since it seemed like things between her and Amber would never be the same again. "What is it Corny?"

"What's wrong are you okay?" he asked her his voice was full of concern. She shook her head and said "Amber and I had a bad fight. I thought we could straighten things out but we can't. She'll never speak to me again and it's all my fault." She said crying.

"I just talked to Amber," he said disdainfully. Velma looked back up at him. He knew everything. She knew Amber told him about Link. She knew Amber was angry but how could she ruin her relationship like this? "I know what she told you." She said softly.

"So is it true? Did you sleep with Link?" She nodded her head slowly. She hated the way he was looking at her now. He was looking like he wanted to hurt her just like Amber did. She knew he wouldn't physically do anything to her but if he was going to break up with her that would hurt her just as much. "Velma, how could you do something like that to Amber and to me? What possessed you to sleep with Link Larkin? I understand why she's so mad at you now!"

"I understand too, but I was hoping she would forgive me. She's my daughter and I love her. I would do anything for her." She said not even wanting to ask him where they stand right now. She was afraid of what he would say.

"Velma, you slept with her boyfriend. Do you honestly think she's going to forgive you for that! I was hoping you said it wasn't true."

"I wish I could say it wasn't true either but I'm not going to lie about it. I did it and it was a big mistake. I hope you can forgive me for this Corny because I love you very much." She said still crying. He looked at her for the longest minute in Velma's life. She couldn't tell what he was thinking at all. She walked towards him and reached for his hand but he pulled back away from her and started to walk out of her office. "Please don't walk away from me! Let's just talk about this!" she said crying.

"I don't know Velma. It's hard for me to look at you the same way after this." He said and walked out and slammed the door. She sat back down and put her head on her desk to cry some more. The two people she loved more then anything weren't talking to her anymore and she didn't know how to handle that.

She went home later the same day and was surprised to see Amber sitting in the living room reading one of her fashion magazines. She didn't know if she should try to talk Amber into forgiving her again or confront her about telling Corny the truth so she just ignored her and headed towards her bedroom. She was glad her day was over. She couldn't stand Corny not talking to her or even looking at her. She tried to talk to him again but he just ignored her. Velma sat on her bed and took off her heels and tried to think about what to do next. Amber came into the doorway and crossed her arms across her chest and smiled down at Velma. "What's wrong? Did Corny break up with you?"

"No, he didn't but thanks to you he isn't speaking to me. How could you tell him Amber? I know you're mad at me but you didn't have to tell him what happened."

"Yes, I did. You shouldn't have touched Link and you shouldn't have hit me either." Amber spat out.

"Well, you deserved it for calling me a tramp. You know I would do anything for you Amber. You shouldn't have said that. Link is just one guy and this is just some high school romance so most likely it wouldn't have lasted anyway."

"You don't know that for sure! I loved Link, mother and you ruined it!" Amber whined and then ran off. Velma didn't bother going after her. She was sure Amber would forgive her when the time was right. Corny was a different story. She hoped he would forgive her soon and not break off their engagement.

She went over to her phone and tried to call him. "Hello?" she heard his voice say when he picked up the phone.

"Corny it's me Velma. I just wanted to…" Click. He had hung up on her. She slowly put the phone back on its receiver and tried to keep herself from crying again. She wished she could take it all back. She wished she could have told Link no when he put his hand on her knee and started to kiss her. She should have never been turned on by him and never allowed him to take her into her into her bedroom. He wasn't even that good. He was obviously inexperienced and didn't know how to turn her on. She had sacrificed her relationships with Amber and Corny for a few minutes of bad sex and now she didn't know how to make it right.

The next day, she tried to avoid Corny even though she knew she would have to see him eventually. She couldn't stand around while he ignored her. Amber didn't show up again. Velma didn't think she meant it when she said she was quitting the show but she hadn't shown up again. Mr. Spritzer told her if Amber didn't show up tomorrow she would be fired anyway. Velma didn't want that to happen to her daughter. She was sure when she and Amber made up; Amber will regret quitting the show and want to come back. She was sitting in her office when there was a knock on the door. "Come in!" she called. She saw Link walking in. He was the last person she wanted to talk to right now. She couldn't help thinking this was entirely his fault even though she was somewhat to blame. "Velma, look about the other night…"

"Link, I don't want to talk about it. I've lost a lot because of that night. Now, I think it will be best if you left my office right now." she said sternly. He didn't listen to her, though. He just walked closely to her desk. Velma stood up in front of him. "Link, I asked you to leave. Don't make me have to fire you from the show."

Link just smiled at her and said "You can't fire me Velma. If you do I can get you trouble for seducing me. How would that make you look?"

"I never seduced you! You came on to me and you know it! Now, get out of here right now!"

"No one's going to believe that Velma. Everyone knows you would do anyone even Amber knows that. She told me about your different men several times, that's why I decided to give you a try. I knew Amber wasn't home the night I came over." He said and looked her up and down.

"You sick bastard! I don't know what Amber or anyone else even sees in you! Now, get the hell out of my office!" She screamed.

"No, not yet. Not until I get what I came here for." He said and tried to put his arms around her. She stepped back. "Get away from me, Link!"

"Or what? There's nothing you can do about it but let it happen. No one is going to believe you anyway. I'm just an innocent kid and you'll sleep with anyone." He said and then suddenly grabbed her by the waist. She tried to break apart from his grip but they fell to the floor instead with him on top of her. "That's more like it, Velma." He said and smiled at her again.

"Get off of me Link! I mean it get off of me right now!" She said and reached up to starch him on his face but he pinned her hands to the ground.

"Don't be like that. You know you want this." He said and then planted his lips on hers to kiss her. The door suddenly opened and Link quickly got off of her. She didn't see who was standing there until she got up herself. She looked into Corny's disappointed face and saw Amber standing beside him. "See I told you it wasn't over between them. And you want to marry _her_?" She said to Corny while looking at Velma. "Corny, I can explain!" she cried.

"Don't bother Velma! It's over!" He said angrily and then left the room.

"Now, see what you did?" she cried to Link and slapped him across the face.

"Don't blame him, mother! I know you invited him in here so you can have your way with him! That's just how you are! I can't believe you and after all that stuff about wanting to make up!" Amber cried then left the room.

"You should have locked the door Velma. And since when are you engaged to Corny? I would say congratulations but it's over now so it doesn't really matter." He said with a cocky grin.

"Just get out of here!" she screamed at him. He quickly left and Velma just stood there unsure of what to do next.


	5. Chapter 5

"Just give me time to talk to her. I'm sure she'll come around." Velma said to Mr. Spritzer after the show the next day. Amber hadn't shown up again and he wanted to go through with his threat of firing her and hiring a new girl to take her place. "I told you if she didn't come today she would be fired." He said angrily. "I know that but please just give her some time she's still upset because of her break up with Link. She just doesn't want to be around him. In fact why don't you just fire him? This is all his fault after all." If he fired Link then she wouldn't have to and then he couldn't get her in trouble for sexual harassment like he threatened.

"I can't fire Link Larkin for breaking up with your daughter. He's the best male dancer on the show and I need a better reason then that."

She knew he would say this and she prepared to go ahead with her next course of action. "You are going to fire him and tell him it was all your decision because if you don't I'll tell your wife how I got this job. I'm sure she would like to know that you and I slept together and then she'll take you for everything you have." She threatened. She was hoping she wouldn't have to go there but for now she had to get Link off the show and possibly get Amber to return. "I can't believe you would do that." he said surprised.

"You'll be surprised at what I'm capable of. So are you going to fire him or am I going to have to call your wife right now and tell her everything." She said picking up the phone getting ready to dial his home number.

"Fine, I'll tell him after the show tomorrow."

"No! You'll tell him now! I don't want him here tomorrow because if he is I'm calling your wife and if you fire Amber I'm still going to call her." She said. He just left the office without another word. She didn't expect him to say anything because they both already knew that she had won. She wished she had thought of blackmailing him sooner then she would have gotten a lot more of things she wanted. Too bad that wasn't going to help her with the situation with Amber and Corny, though. He pretty much avoided her today and she didn't know what else to do.

She went home and went to Amber's room to talk to her. Amber was lying across her bed looking upset. She hated seeing Amber so down. She wanted Amber to return to her normal self. She really missed that.

"Amber, can I talk to you?" Velma said sitting next to her.

"Mom I don't want to talk to you remember?"

"Fine you don't have to talk but you just have to listen. Link came into my office and he wanted to do it again. I was never going to sleep with him again." She said quickly. Amber didn't say anything but Velma could tell that she was listening to her.

"I'm not very proud of what I did with Link or with all of those other guys but sometimes I have to do things to get what I want. I know now that I shouldn't have been doing those things. I'm not going to be like that anymore."

"You can do other things to get what you want, mom. I still don't get why you slept with Link!" She said crying.

"I know honey. It was a mistake. He came over and he admitted that he knew you weren't here. He wanted to sleep with me. Just like in my office when you and Corny walked in I had tripped and he fell on top of me. I know that sounds silly but it's the truth." She said hoping she was getting through to Amber.

"I still can't dance on the show anymore. I'm not going to dance with Link after what he did to me and you." Amber said.

"You don't have to worry about that. Mr. Spritzer fired Link today. He's no longer on the show." Velma explained. She had hoped this meant that Amber was going to forgive her.

"Really?" She said finally looking in Velma's eyes.

"Yes honey he did. So are you going to come back to the show?" Amber was quiet for a minute before saying. "Sure, I'll come back and I forgive you since I know it was mostly Link's fault but I'm not going to forget about this anytime soon." Velma just pulled her into a hug. She was so happy to finally have her daughter speaking to her again and now that Link was off the show she would never have to see him again. Sure she'll see him at school but she was sure Amber could avoid him. Too bad it was going to take a lot more then that to straighten things out with Corny if he forgave her at all.

The next day everyone was happy to see Amber back. Well almost everyone. Shelley was angry about it since she had become the lead dancer since Amber left. She was probably hoping that Amber was gone for good. Everyone was wondering about what happened to Link and Tammy even asked her about it. She told her that she heard he was fired and offered no more information. After she and her mom made up, they made a vow to always be honest with each other so she told Amber the truth about blackmailing Mr. Spritzer to fire Link. She didn't want to tell Tammy about it though. Her mom was still miserable though and she hated seeing her that way. She couldn't believe how much she wanted to hurt her because of Link Larkin. Now as she watched the way her mom walked around heartbroken over Corny, she felt guilty about telling him about Link. Her mom was truly happy and in love and she had ruined it. She wanted to cry again. "What's wrong? Are you upset that Link got fired? I mean you guys had broken up. I thought you would be fine with him being gone." Tammy told her in the dressing room before the show.

"It's not that. It's just that I did something really bad to someone and I feel horrible about it, now." Tammy looked surprised and Amber knew why. She never felt bad about doing anything wrong as long as she got what she wanted out of it but this time she had hurt her mother. The one person she knew really loved her and who would do anything for her. Although the whole Link situation had messed up their relationship for a little while, she was sure it was mostly Link's fault like her mother said.

She wasn't even excited to be dancing on TV again and had to force herself to smile. She couldn't help glancing at her mom standing beside the camera man looking at Corny. She looked really sad and miserable. It made her want to cry. After the show, she saw her mom immediately walk back to her office. Instead of going back to the dressing room, she walked up to Corny. "Corny, can I talk to you for a minute?" She asked him.

"What is it Amber?" he asked her

"It's about my mom. She really loves you, so I think you should give her another chance." He looked shocked that she was saying that.

"Are you forgetting what happened with her and Link?" he whispered to her so no one could hear them.

"No, but I've forgiven her and I think you should too. She's really sorry about what she did and I believe her."

"I don't know Amber. What she did was really sleazy. I don't know if I can forgive her for what she did so easily."

"She hurt me too and if I can forgive her I don't see why you can't. You must be in love with her you asked her to marry you after all." She reminded him. The whole thing about them getting married and Corny becoming her stepfather was a little hard to swallow but she figured if her mom was happy then she could be happy for her. That was if he forgave her.

"I'll think about and that's all I can promise you." He said and smiled at her. She smiled back and said "That's all I ask." She walked towards the dressing room and hoped it worked out in her favor.


End file.
